Only One: A Hopeless Journey
by Mumble
Summary: The first story of my series, Only One. Hermione Granger's lost, confused and without hope so can she challenge all she used to believe in in order to find a new day and make it through Middle Earth to find her friends.
1. Believe it or Not

Everyone was well and truly sick of cleaning the headquarters for the order and Hermione, Harry, Ron and Ginny were all relieved to get a break. Hermione had planned on spending the afternoon reading but she had been out voted by the other three who all wanted to explore. Although she could have chosen to let them go and explore by themselves, she chose not to because she thought that maybe some exploring would do her some good and the house was huge and very old, maybe she could find a lovely book or some interesting artifacts in there.

After a quick lunch they headed up the dusty staircase. They avoided Mrs. Weasley and they were even silent on the stairs which prevented Sirius' mother from having a lovely scream. The house was enormous and the stairs seemed to go on forever. Ginny had wanted Fred and George to come but had been unable to talk to them because they're room seemed empty except for a huge lot of blinding smoke. Fred and George had told them the day before that they were working on a new product from the joke shop and that not to enter their room under any circumstances but they'd completely ignored the warning. Ginny who was leading the group on their exploration showed them into a very daunting old room. The room was full of the most peculiar of objects from old curtains full of dust to large vases full of what Hermione thought looked like rotten flowers with dust for extra flavour. The room looked like it had been an old study but had not been accessed for a very long time. There was also a bookshelf full of massive books that Hermione would have loved to read front to back. Besides the disgusting objects in the room there was an old mirror with a peeling gold frame. Hermione thought it looked rather pretty besides the fading and rather enormous amount of dust covering it. The mirror didn't look dangerous but it did look like nobody had been near it in a long time.

'A mirror,' Ron said, staring at the mirror in awe. 'Looks kinda nice actually.'

'Hang on, there's writing on it,' Hermione said as she looked at the tiny writing on the bottom of the mirror's stand. The writing was so tiny that Hermione had to stand right up next to it and squint to read it and Hermione had perfect eye sight.

'What does it say?' asked Ginny, curiously. Everyone's attention was drawn to the mirror and they all were shocked by how this beautiful object was in such an evil, daunting house.

'It reads: If you wish to travel out there, you must have a heart that's fair. Split you will be when you arrive, but friends you'll find keep you alive. Challenging it shall be, though in the end you will see. So do not be scared or afraid, for where the mirror leads is where you will be made.'

'Huh?' said Harry who like Ginny looked completely confused and was looking at Hermione in attempts to get an answer. Ron, however was looking completely dumbfounded and Harry found it hard not to laugh at his completely stupid and confused expression.

'It's really weird,' Hermione looked at it with a very confused look on her face and squinted her eyes in attempt to find more writing on the mirror but there wasn't any. She reached out to touch the glass on the mirror but she didn't feel anything. Instead her fingers went straight through as though the mirror was liquid. The feeling was creepy, it felt just like putting her hand in jelly and that's when she got the feeling that this mirror wasn't just in a dark house by coincidence but that the object would be very dangerous.

'Wow!' said Ron looking at Hermione with excitement. 'Maybe it's a teleport or something. I dunno but it looks pretty cool. Maybe you like just walk through it!'

'Even if it is we can't try it,' Hermione said and the others looked thoroughly disappointed. Hermione did her common look to try and give the impression that she knew something they didn't and from the disbelieving looks on their faces it seemed she did realize something the others didn't.

'Why not?' Harry asked, 'It'd be cool.'

'Whether it's cool or not is irrelevant,' Hermione said in her usually bossy tone. She was hell bent on making sure they didn't try it out. She's couldn't see how the mirror could be safe. How many mirrors were there that you could just walk through and come out okay? Like usual she was wishing everyone else could just see things from her point of view for once.

'And why is that?' Ron asked while looking at her rather stupidly.

'Well we found it in a dark wizard family's house, so it's probably full of dark magic and incredibly dangerous. Secondly, even if it was a teleport what would we do if we get teleported somewhere and get lost, my parents would kill you for coming up with the idea and yours would do the same to me and we may not be able to get home again.'

'Spoilt sport,' Ron said and Hermione looked at him with deep disgust while he added, 'Well we'll never know if we don't try it.'

'That's beside the point!' Hermione knew she was beaten but she was still going to try, 'Do you not realize how much danger you'll be putting yourself in if you go in that?

'Yeah,' Ginny said, 'Let's just do something incredibly stupid, just this once,' Harry laughed. The comment was usually something Fred and George would come out with and Hermione hoped Ginny wasn't turning into someone like them. She admired Ginny as an intelligent friend not a stupid joke maker.

'Who's with me?' Ron said and he looked from Ginny to Harry then to Hermione who looked completely defeated. She couldn't believe they were actually planning on doing this. What did they hope to achieve other than pain and suffering?

'I'm in,' said Harry with an excited tone.

'Me too!' Ginny said and both her and Harry looked toward Hermione who now wished she'd just stayed down stairs and read a book. She really had no intentions of being a part of this but it didn't look like she had much of a choice. They needed someone to get them out of the mess they were putting themselves in and to Hermione none of them seemed capable to do it themselves.

Hermione honestly did not want to go anywhere near that thing and was ready to go dob them in to Mrs. Weasley. She didn't have the chance to run though or to scream for help or even to lecture them, she didn't have time for anything as just at that moment Ron took one big step into the mirror and disappeared. It hadn't been the sudden disappearance of that of apparition but more of a fade into the mirror, like he was becoming part of it only there was no Ron visible in the mirror but it was a rather terrifying sight. There was absolutely no sign of him, not even a sound coming from the interior of the mirror, it was like he had said, and it seemed he had teleported. Harry followed him and although Hermione felt like yelling out to tell him not to she didn't because she got a sudden urge to want to go in herself, just to see what was on the other side. Ginny followed and Hermione went to follow her but then got the sudden thought that her friends might be in danger there and even if they weren't that it might be a good idea to tell someone where they'd gone. If she just left what would everyone think. They might think Harry had been taken by Voldemort or that they had left off on some stupid adventure, which Hermione told herself, they had. Hermione walked toward the door of the room as she decided that she was going to tell someone just in case something bad happened to her friends when she heard a scream come from the mirror. It was very faint but it sounded as if the person who had screamed was either scared, in pain or both. It had sounded like an urgent scream and Hermione thought that it would be better to save her friend's life then to tell someone where they were going and have no friend to find. So without a second thought Hermione tore across the room and walked straight through the mirror. As she did she got the sudden feeling that she was walking through ice and then the liquid disappeared and she saw where she was. It was a beautiful sight.


	2. Common Courtesy

**Sorry for the wait I had school and then when holidays came I didn't feel like writing. Hope you enjoy the next chapter. I will be updating more frequently as I am now a few chapters ahead of myself like I like to be.**

Where she was she had no idea. She certainly wasn't in London. The place was incredibly beautiful. It looked like it was spring for the grass was very green and the flowers were bright and beautiful. Hermione figured she must be somewhere else in the world as it was summer back in London and it most definitely wasn't summer here. She had no idea how she could have got here. Before she had time to consume her surroundings completely she remembered why she had gone through and she looked around for a sign of any of her friends. She wondered who had screamed, it had sounded like a girl's scream but now that she thought about it, it hadn't sounded like Ginny. When she realized that she wished she hadn't been so quick to jump through the mirror as there was no sign of a mirror or any way to get back in sight. She also began to worry about her friends. Where had they landed? Were they far away? Were they alright? What should she do?

Thinking that standing around stressing wasn't going to help Hermione began to walk around. She was in a small forest area but the trees weren't very close together which meant that she would probably be able to find a way out alright. There was no sign of anybody in the area all except a girl who was sitting under a tall tree looking rather distressed. The girl hadn't seen Hermione because she seemed very oblivious to the world. She had her head tilted down and looked like she was crying but even without seeing her face Hermione could tell the girl was no older than eleven. Hermione walked slowly towards her so not to startle her. The girl looked up as Hermione came within a metre of her. Hermione put out her hand and the girl grabbed it and she lifted her off the ground. The girl muttered her thanks and Hermione tore into her usual introduction.

'Hermione Granger,' she said and the girl smiled, 'What's wrong?'

'Lucy Pevensie,' the girl muttered and grinned, she still looked rather nervous though, 'And I'm fine, well no I'm not but I do not wish to trouble you.'

'Don't worry, I'm already troubled, so tell me,' Hermione said and Lucy laughed.

'Well my brothers and my sister and I were playing,' she said and her tone changed to a less calming one instead of her previous friendly tone, 'When we fell through a mirror. It was rather peculiar as Edmund just ran toward it and fell through and Susan couldn't manage to hold herself back. See we were playing chase and Edmund tripped through and Susan couldn't stop and then Peter ran after them trying to help and I followed, naturally. At first I though we had landed in Narnia but this certainly doesn't look like Narnia.'

'What is Narnia?' Hermione asked curiously. She had never heard of such a place and Hermione was brilliant at geography.

'Never mind that, I'll explain later,' Lucy said and although Hermione was a little disappointed she chose not to pursue it just yet. 'We have bigger worries than that. So what is your problem?'

'Mine is much the same as yours. My friends and I were exploring when they thought it would be very fun to walkthrough some strange old mirror. I told them not to but they didn't listen. I was going to go and tell somebody when I heard someone scream. I thought it may have been one of my friends so I rushed in after but it turns out it wasn't. I don't know who screamed.'

'That was me,' Lucy said and she looked rather guilty. Hermione was sure that inside she was blaming herself for Hermione going through which was nice and all but Hermione knew it wasn't her fault. 'I'm sorry.'

'You were scared. That is nothing to be ashamed of,' Hermione reassured her.

'Still-' Lucy started but Hermione cut across her.

'It doesn't matter. Now that I'm here I can always attempt to help my friends out of danger which is what they need, rather than their parents stressing about them.'

'So then, what do we do now?' Lucy said and Hermione bit her lip and began to think.

'Well we should stick together as we have much the same problem on our hands,' Hermione suggested and Lucy nodded in agreement, 'Firstly I suggest we have a good look around. This place looks fairly deserted but there's sure to be someone nearby as the grass is so well nurtured.'

Lucy agreed and together they began to walk through the small forest. It was much different than the Forbidden Forest because the grass was lusher and the ground was easier to walk on as there weren't hundreds of branches and vines to trample over. Hermione couldn't see any civilization in sight but she was convinced that there had to be someone nearby.

There was. Lucy and Hermione continued walking until they came to a dirt road where they met a very short man who was standing above the road on the same side as them and an elderly man who was sitting in a sulky. The man in the sulky was tall and had a long white beard and was wearing what Hermione thought looked a lot like wizard's robes in a pale grey colour. He also wore a rather pointy grey hat and was laughing at the short man. The much shorter one was wearing a green and brown outfit that Hermione thought looked quite nice. He had brown curly hair and was laughing along with the other man. The two men had only just seen Hermione and Lucy and the old man tore into a greeting.

'I am Gandalf and who might you be?' The man said while looking at them with curiousity.

'I'm Hermione and this is Lucy,' Hermione said and tried her best to look polite, 'We're lost. I'm not sure where we are but I would quite like to get back to London, can you tell me the way?'

The shorter man laughed and said, 'What is London?'

Hermione's stomach sank. They didn't know where London was and so her hopes for getting back to the Headquarters had fallen even further. She didn't like the thought at all as she was sure that anybody on Earth would know what London is. That was when she first got the horrifying thought that they may not be on Earth. Lucy had spoken of a land she had never heard of, maybe there was other worlds and maybe she had landed on another one. What if her friends weren't in the same world? What if there was no way to get back? Hermione felt awfully grim and guilty at the same time. How could she have been so stupid to walk through the mirror when she could have gone to get help? Why did she let them go through in the first place?

Lucy began to talk as Hermione became absorbed in her thoughts. 'London is where we come from, it's in Europe. Surely you have heard of Europe?'

'Sorry to disappoint you,' the old man said, 'but there is no land called Europe around here.'

'Well,' Hermione tried to hide her worry, 'What is this place? Where is this place?'

'The shire,' said the little man, 'Home to hobbits.'

'What's?' Asked Lucy.

'Hobbits are little people,' the old man explained.

'Okay…' Hermione said with an unbelieving look on her face. 'Well, have you seen my friends by any chance?'

'Who are your friends?' The old man asked her.

'Two of them have red hair, that's Ron and Ginny and then Harry has black hair and scar on his forehead and-' Hermione said but Lucy interrupted her.

'And then there is my brothers and sister. Susan is tall and has brown, curly hair, Peter is tall and has blonde hair and Edmund is not as tall and has dark brown, short hair. Have you seen them?'

'I'm afraid not,' the man replied, 'I will help you, however. Come, get in. We shall help you find your friends.'

Lucy hopped into the sulky without hesitation but Hermione wasn't too sure. She trusted the men but she didn't think this would be the right way to go about finding her friends.

'We're not going to bite,' the man chuckled and Hermione decided that this was the best hope she had and she might as well take it. So she jumped from the cliff and into the sulky where she sat beside the little man. The sulky was off almost at once. They soon left the small forest area and Hermione found herself gazing at the beautiful scenery on either side of the small dirt round. There was many paddocks full of green grass that was being tended to by more little men. Women were by small houses with round doors. Everyone had curly hair and was very short. Hermione wondered where they could be. If she wasn't so worried about where her friends might be she would have been questioning Gandalf or the hobbit that she discovered was called Frodo about the history of this strange place. She also began to wonder what a tall man like Gandalf was doing in this place of hobbits. The ride in the sulky wasn't very long but it was eventful. Gandalf set off some fireworks for some hobbit children, which made Hermione think he seemed a little like Dumbledore. She tried not to think too much of it as it only made her more worried and upset.

The sulky pulled in at a small house upon a hill. From what Hermione could see the house appeared to be built under the hill with a round, wooden door at the entrance. 'Is this your house?' She asked Frodo.

'I live here with my uncle,' he said and smiled at Hermione. He walked toward the front door with Gandalf. They knocked and entered but both Hermione and Lucy stood back. Hermione wasn't sure about it as she didn't like the idea of entering a stranger's house when she was supposed to be looking for her friends. She told Frodo and Gandalf when they asked her what she was doing that she didn't want to invade their privacy but they insisted on having them come in.

After many greetings Hermione sat down for tea. She didn't want to be rude but she knew that to be polite she would have to take the large plate full of food that had been shoved into her face. Frodo's uncle, it turned out was named Bilbo. He said that he was turning a hundred and eleven very soon but Lucy didn't believe that and said it was impossible while Hermione said that that was rare. She also told him that he didn't look that old which was true as she thought he only looked in his sixties or seventies. Their tea took a long time as there was so much food and because Hermione and Lucy had to tell another person where they had come from. Hermione had to tell of Hogwarts and magic and could barely believe it when Lucy said the year it was back in London when she had left. Hermione concluded that the mirror must bring people into the future or the past, whatever it was. She asked about the world they were in which turned out to be called Middle Earth. Neither Frodo nor Bilbo seemed to believe in other worlds very much although they did try to believe Hermione and Lucy. Bilbo told her that he had many books about the shire and this world and Hermione was delighted and asked if she would be able to borrow them. Gandalf told them that for the time being the best thing to do would be to stay here as wandering around the countryside would not help anyone and Hermione personally agreed but she didn't like feeling so useless. Luckily for them Bilbo offered to let them stay in his house which he said was called Bag End until the right time came to set off. Bilbo also invited them to his birthday party in about a week and a bit's time.

Days passed and the party drew closer. Hermione spent the days reading through Bilbo's books. When she wasn't reading she was asking Frodo about life in the shire, talking to Gandalf about Middle Earth or questioning Bilbo about his journeys to the mountains. She was fascinated to know about a different world. She also met many other hobbits. Sam was the third hobbit she met after Frodo and Bilbo. He was very nice to her and she quite enjoyed his company. Frodo, Sam, Lucy and herself became friends fairly quick. She also met some relatives of Frodo including met Merry and Pippin who reminded her of Fred and George. As Frodo showed Lucy and Hermione the shire, they encountered Merry and Pippin quite a few times. Each and every time they were up to something mischievous and Hermione seemed to be the only one that didn't find them very funny.

Hermione helped out with the preparations for Bilbo's birthday party which she felt was her way of trying to repay Frodo, Bilbo and Gandalf for being so generous in letting her stay and helping her out. Although Bilbo was happy to let her stay she did feel a little like she needed to leave. As much as she loved the shire she felt useless staying in Bag End and she didn't want to feel like she was intruding. There had not been one word of her friends nor Lucy's family and both Hermione and Lucy were beginning to feel even grimmer, if that was possible but despite their constant worries neither could fail to be excited about the upcoming party.

The party had come. The area just behind Bag End where the party was to take place was beautiful. Hermione couldn't help gazing in awe at the marvelous decorations. Half the shire had been invited according to Frodo. Although Hermione and Lucy had spent the past week and a half exploring Hobbitton, as they walked down the stone stairs into the party there were many whispers and questions about who they were. Hermione was about to tell them were they had come from but Gandalf beat her to it.

'They are travelers from a distant land, friends of mine,' he said loudly to the shire folk and then he began to walk toward the tents at the back. This didn't stop the whispers, in the fact if anything it probably made them increase. Lucy disappeared off with Frodo and Sam but Hermione followed Gandalf. She was about to ask him why he had lied to them but he answered the question before she was able to ask it, 'You do not know the shire folk as I do. They do not trust outlanders but I'm sure they would trust an outlander before trusting someone who insisted that she knew magic and came from a different world.'

'I don't insist it, it's the truth!' Hermione said and then realized that Gandalf wasn't questioning her because he was smiling.

'I believe you but I would not trust others to do the same,' Gandalf said and smiled yet again, 'Lighten up and enjoy the party.'

'How can I?' Hermione said while looking sad and mortified at Gandalf, 'How can I be happy when my friends could be out there in grave danger!'

'_Could, _Being the key word there,' Gandalf reminded her, 'Assumption without proof is your greatest foe.' Gandalf then walked away leaving Hermione standing just outside a tent, thinking. Hermione knew what he had meant and she felt a small bit of comfort from his words but she still didn't seem satisfied. She didn't think that was all there was to it.

Trying not to think on the matter anymore, Hermione walked from near the tents to closer toward the action. She soon found Frodo, Sam and Lucy. Frodo was busy insisting on getting Sam to dance with his crush, Rosie. Hermione laughed as Sam was pushed into Rosie and they began to dance.

Frodo stood up and asked Hermione to dance but she declined so he asked Lucy who got up and joined him. Hermione wished she was like Lucy and able to let go of her feelings and not constantly stress about her friends but Hermione didn't realize that she wasn't the only one always worried. Hermione became yet again oblivious to everyone around her and only ducked just in time to avoid being hit by what seemed to be a dragon. It had came so quick that she would not have realized had she not heard Frodo calling out to Bilbo. Only once she had ducked and it had exploded did she realize that it was only a very strangely shaped firework.

Then Bilbo's speech came. It was a very interesting speech, to Hermione at least. The rest of the audience seemed rather bored but she didn't notice because she was to busy taking in each and every word. Toward the end of the speech was when Hermione noticed something very strange. Bilbo had begun to act very weird. He was fidgeting and he looked rather confused, then suddenly he disappeared. Hermione looked round quickly, trying to determine what had happened. She had noticed only seconds before he had disappeared that he had put his hand into his pocket. He must have something in his pocket that could make him invisible, Hermione concluded.

Frodo and Lucy were busy trying to convince the hobbits that they had nothing to do with it. Nobody noticed Gandalf slip out of the party – except Hermione who was out in a flash. She tore up toward Bag End and luckily no one saw her. There was loud arguing to be heard inside. It became quite clear that Gandalf was trying to convince Bilbo against something. Hermione listened outside the door for a few moments before opening the round door and walking inside to find Gandalf and Bilbo in the first room. Gandalf was talking to Bilbo.

'I am not trying to rob you. I am trying to help you,' Gandalf was telling him. Bilbo looked terribly upset when Gandalf noticed Hermione. 'Hermione, Bilbo is leaving.'

'Why?' She asked looking from Gandalf to Bilbo.

'I need to go,' Bilbo told her, 'You will look after Frodo won't you?'

Hermione nodded, 'Of course,' and she smiled.

After being a little reluctant Bilbo dropped a golden ring near the front door and said farewell to Gandalf and Hermione. Hermione said her final farewells and thank yous and then he was off. It was only after Bilbo had left that Frodo and Lucy came through the door.

'Bilbo has left,' Gandalf told Frodo, 'And he has left you all his possessions, along with his ring,' he pointed to the ring lying in the door way. Frodo picked up the ring and stared at it for a few moments.

'Where has he gone?' Frodo asked.

'Oh, just off on another adventure,' Gandalf smiled, and then suddenly he jumped from his chair. 'Well I must be going.'

'You've only just arrived!' Frodo blurted out.

'You don't need to leave now!' Lucy told him. She quite admired Gandalf and both she and Hermione didn't want him to leave because he seemed to be their best hope of finding their friends again.

'I have to go but remember, keep the ring secret, tell no one,' Gandalf told them and Hermione looked ready to butt in and ask about where he might be going but he cut across her, 'I need answers.' Without another word he left and did not turn back when Hermione called his name. They all just looked at each other, completely confused.

Hermione, Lucy and Frodo spent the next few weeks wondering why Gandalf had left the shire and when he would return. They went to the Green Dragon almost every night where they watched Pippin and Merry dance while they had talked with Sam and his father about recent happenings. Sam's 'old gaffer' told them that wolves were in the shire. Hermione didn't like the sound of that. She got the feeling something bad was about to happen.


	3. Ring of Fire

Everything seemed too quiet for Hermione. Lucy and Frodo were down at the Green Dragon with Sam drinking themselves stupid or in Lucy's case, drinking a simple tankard full of nothing but water. Hermione wasn't one for such foolish behavior. In fact she was feeling quite sensible. She was sitting up in Bilbo's old study reading through his old drafts of his book. Bilbo had told her that she was welcome to read through his works after she had told him she was a very keen reader.

Although she was feeling sensible, she wasn't feeling relaxed. There was something in the air that she couldn't place. She hadn't had such a feeling since the final task of the triwizard tournament almost two months ago. Something made her feel nervous and it wasn't to do with the fact that it had been more than two weeks since she had seen her friends.

Hermione jumped when she heard the door creak open. She ran from the study to find it was only Frodo and Lucy back from the Green Dragon. She still wasn't comforted as she had the feeling they were being watched or their was someone nearby that shouldn't be.

Frodo and Lucy looked cautiously at Hermione who walked past them and into the room with the beautiful fireplace. She heard a rustle and she jumped when she saw Gandalf standing behind Frodo with his hand on his shoulder. Hermione was relieved that it was only Gandalf but he didn't look as friendly as usual but more cautious.

'Is it secret?' Gandalf asked him, 'Is it safe?'

'What?' Hermione asked him, 'The ring?'

Frodo began to hunt through a chest and eventually he picked up a small envelope which he handed to Gandalf. Gandalf walked toward the fireplace and before Hermione could yell out or stop him he threw it into the fire.

'You'll wreck it,' Lucy gasped but Gandalf shook his head and Hermione mouthed at her to be quiet. Frodo wasn't looking too happy either but he was keeping quiet.

Gandalf took the ring from the fire with tongs and handed it to Frodo who looked at it over and over in his hand. Hermione stared over Frodo's shoulder at the ring and Lucy stood nearby staring too.

Hermione gasped when she saw something change on the ring, 'There's writing on it,' Hermione told him, 'It's elvish from what I can see, I read about elvish in a book the other day it sounds quite-' Hermione tried to go on about what she had read but Lucy interrupted her.

'What does it say?' She asked while staring vividly at Gandalf.

'In the common tongue it says: One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them,' Gandalf told them and Hermione gasped. She had read a bit about magic rings but nothing about this kind of thing.

After a few minutes they were settled down at the kitchen table and Frodo was busy poring them some tea. The mood had changed drastically. It had been quiet and peaceful throughout Lucy's and Hermione's stay until now. Everybody was looking at the ring which lay on the table.

'So what is the "one ring"?' Lucy asked Gandalf.

'It is a ring made long ago to rule the world,' Gandalf told them and Hermione looked from Gandalf to Frodo in horror, 'Sauron, lord of Mordor created this ring in the fire's of Mount Doom. Thousands of years ago he began to overrun the world but men and elves fought back. Sauron lost the ring but now he seeks it again. It calls to him, it wants to be found. Once Sauron gains his ring Middle Earth is doomed.'

Hermione looked at Gandalf and her eyes began to fill with tears. She knew that if this lord found this ring that herself and her friends were doomed and they would never be able to get home.

'But nobody knows it's here, right?' Frodo asked and Hermione dreaded the answer.

'There was one who knew Bilbo had the ring,' Gandalf told them and Hermione gulped, Frodo looked defeated and Lucy, confused, 'I looked long and hard for the creature Gollum but the enemy found him first.'

'What happened to him?' Lucy asked and Hermione looked nervously at Gandalf.

'They tortured him and he gave out two words: shire and Baggins,' Gandalf said and Hermione gasped.

'Oh no!' Gasped Lucy who was looking very doubtful.

'Gandalf! Take it!' Frodo told him but he knew he was fighting a losing battle.

'I cannot take it,' Gandalf said slowly.

'Why?' Asked Lucy.

'I would use this ring to do good but through me it would make me as evil as the dark lord himself!'

'What do we have to do?' Asked Frodo and Lucy and Hermione smiled at him and nodded.

'Make for Bree,' Gandalf told them and Lucy looked like she was about to ask where Bree was but Hermione mouthed at her not to. Gandalf left the table and they all followed him. Frodo began to pack things into a small sack and Lucy searched for her shoes while Hermione continued to question Gandalf.

'Will it be safe there?' Hermione asked him hoping that he would say yes.

'I do not know,' Gandalf told them, 'I have to see the head of my order, I will meet you there.'

'Any tips?' Hermione asked.

'Yes,' Gandalf said and laughed, 'Stay off the road and never put the ring on, Frodo,' Frodo nodded and Hermione smiled at him.

Suddenly there was a noise from outside and everyone but Gandalf dropped to the ground. Hermione began to panic but managed to keep quiet while Gandalf grabbed for someone in the bushes outside. It was Sam. Gandalf pulled him onto the table and threatened to use his magic on him when Hermione spoke.

'Don't hurt him,' she said, 'I trust Sam. How much have you heard, Sam?'

'A bit, nothing important. Something about a dark lord, elves and the end of the world,' Sam told them and then looked pleadingly at Gandalf, 'Please don't hurt me, don't turn me into anything unnatural.'

Gandalf, Frodo and Hermione laughed and then Gandalf came up with an idea, 'No,' he told Sam who looked surprised and relieved, 'I have a better idea for you.'

The rest of the evening was spent getting some important items for their journey together. Although Hermione was nervous she couldn't help feeling happy that she would actually be going somewhere and doing something to try and find her friends. She and Lucy borrowed clothes that Bilbo had brought back from his adventures. They were elves clothes and big enough to fit them so that made Hermione think that the elves in this world must be much different from those in her own world.

The travel outfit she chose was beautiful. It was made of a very fine, brown material. The cloak covered her head to toe and she was certain that she could not be easily spotted wearing this. She pocketed her wand even though she knew it was useless. She had discovered only the second day after landing in Middle Earth that her magic didn't work here. Hermione had tried many spells which hadn't work so she had no doubt in her mind that her magic simply didn't work in this world. Gandalf had magic she had quickly discovered but his was much different to hers.

After a quick sleep, Gandalf led Frodo, Hermione, Lucy and Sam into a small wood not far from where Hermione had landed what seemed very long ago. Gandalf turned to Frodo and gave him some last minute advice before jumping on his horse and setting off. They started to set off.

Going cross country wasn't exactly Hermione's idea of fun but they didn't have a choice as the road was too dangerous. They talked about Hermione's home for the first part of the day until they stopped for lunch when the discussion turned to the journey. By late afternoon Hermione's back was aching from having to carry her heavy pack.

Never before had Hermione appreciated nature this much. She found herself constantly gazing at the beautiful trees so that she wouldn't become bored. As night began to fall the sleepiness in the group was showing very clearly. They settled down for the night by a large tree.

Frodo and Lucy fell asleep almost at once but Sam seemed restless. He and Hermione spoke for quite some time. Sam was very interested in the magic in Hermione's world. She told him more about the castle.

'It's massive,' she said, 'It's beautiful in the moonlight. We have a forest too but it's dangerous.'

'Dangerous?' Sam asked, blankly.

'It's full of wild creatures and the thorns hurt to tread on too,' she said and he laughed.

Then the topic turned to Hermione's friends and she began to tell him about them more. She had given Frodo and Lucy a lot about her friends but she hadn't talked as much to Sam. 'Well there's Harry,' she told him, 'I met him on the train-'

'What's a train?' Sam asked, butting in.

'Never mind,' Hermione told him, 'Anyway Harry's the hero type, spends the whole time trying to save everyone's lives. Mind you, I don't know where I would be without him.'

Sam laughed, 'I hope I can meet your friends one day.'

'I hope so too,' she told him, 'Well then there's Ron. Ron is nice and all and he is a great friend but he can be very insensitive. And then there's Ginny. She's Ron's sister but she's not tactless like him.'

Sam laughed, 'Do you and Ron not get along?'

'Oh,' Hermione said and giggled, 'We do, we just fight a bit. And well Ginny she's really nice but she's a year below, Ron, Harry and myself.'

'We should be getting to sleep,' Sam reminded her.

'Yeah,' Hermione agreed, 'I guess we should.' Without another word Hermione and Sam fell asleep. They awoke in the morning to find Frodo and Lucy already awake. They had a quick breakfast and headed off.

The following days were fairly uneventful. They were very close to Maggot's Farm according to Sam and when Hermione asked who Maggot was he said something about him being very unfriendly. All four were incredibly tired but Hermione insisted they sleep less as she felt uncomfortable again, like something bad was about to happen.

'Frodo?' Hermione yelled out. Frodo had gone missing amongst Maggot's crop. Sam, Lucy and Hermione were all searching for him until he reappeared.

'We're still in the shire,' Frodo stated, 'What could possibly happen?' Just as he said that Merry and Pippin appeared. The both filled Sam and Lucy's arms with different fruit and vegetables and when they tried to do the same to Hermione she growled at them.

'I wish you two would stop doing this stupid stealing just for-' she started but was interrupted by barking and farmer Maggot yelling so they ran for it. They ran off the side of a cliff. While Merry and Pippin were busy picking up there goods and Lucy and Sam were cleaning themselves up Frodo and Hermione walked ahead. Hermione felt a sudden darkness overcome her. It was incredibly windy and the road seemed to be moving. Hermione freaked. 'Get off the road,' she yelled.

Hastily everybody hid underneath a tree by the other side of the road. As they lay there a rider in black came up toward them. He hopped off his horse and began sniffing around. Frodo's eyes were rolling and he seemed oblivious to the world around him. Hermione watched as his fingers came closer and closer toward the ring. She looked at the ring, it was very pretty. Why couldn't she have it? She thought as Frodo continued to look dazed. After all she was smarter then him.

The rider disappeared. Merry had thrown something. Hermione looked round. She couldn't believe how selfish she had been. How could she have thoughts such thoughts? Frodo was still looking dizzy so Hermione helped him up. They ran into the clearing where they ran into another rider.

There was no option other then to run for their lives. Hermione wasn't a fast runner and her and Frodo were left behind to catch up when everyone else had got onto a little boat. Hermione ran as fast as she could.

The boat had been unwrapped and was floating away. The sound of hooves was terrifying behind them. Frodo leapt and landed safely on the boat and Hermione jumped and just managed to get on. The rider stood at the edge and the horse's hooves pawed the ground but they were safe, at least for the mean time.

During their rather long trip up the river Frodo, Sam, Hermione and Lucy had to explain to Merry and Pippin about their quest. Merry and Pippin agreed to help. They decided the safest route would be to cut through the Old Forest. Hermione didn't like the idea of going through a forest but she decided it sounded safer then risking the road.

After an hour or two they found themselves at an old gate. They was vines tangled through the bars. Merry swung the gate open and everyone followed him through a small cave and into a dark forest. Hermione shivered.

The forest had a feeling that made Hermione think that this was no ordinary forest. The group began to walk through the forest and Hermione knew this wasn't going to be much more pleasant than running from a rider in black.

**Authors Note: Sorry about taking so long. I'm getting ahead now so I hope to be able to update at least once a week. Hope you have been enjoying it so far.**


	4. The Forest's Secrets

It didn't take long for Hermione to lose track of time in the Old Forest. Days seemed like years and nights as long as decades because Hermione rarely got any sleep. Merry and Pippin didn't help either as every night they would stay up for hours telling stories by the fire. Her feet were sore with blisters everywhere, her hair was full of twigs and her stomach was empty from the surprisingly small amount of rations available. The rations always seemed a lot smaller after Pippin had been near them. Hermione was sick and tired of Merry and Pippin's jokes of different myths about the forest and she couldn't wait to see the end of this place. She stopped yelling at them every time they mucked around simply because she was losing her voice but she still gave them dirty looks or gritted her teeth. To make it worse every tree looked the same and she began to get the suspicion that the trees could move. She began to wonder more and more about her friends. Where could they be? Would she ever see them again? What if she didn't make it out of this alive?

On one day in the forest Hermione like usual was in a daze and barely talking when she came across a large rock with writing on it. The whole group stopped and was trying to make out the words. It said: _H.P. September 16th _Hermione spent quite a while trying to figure out what it meant until…

'H.P.,' she said again, 'Harry Potter, Harry's been here! September 16th,' she bit her tongue 'that was a week ago! Harry was here a week ago!' Without another word Hermione ran ahead with a new sort of inspiration. Harry was only a week away. For the first time in over a month Hermione felt hopeful. She led the group who were still tired and lacked enthusiasm but Hermione now felt like she had something to live for. She didn't mind getting scratched on the thorns nor did she care when more twigs joined the pile in her hair because she felt like there was a purpose to this at last.

A day after finding the message the group found their way out of the Old Forest. The place they found themselves next was just as inviting. It was river surrounded by hills. It would have been quite beautiful if the air wasn't so tense. Merry told the group that the area was called Withiwindle Valley and only Hermione didn't seem interested. She longed to leave the forest and to find Harry. How far could he have got in a week?

Even Merry wasn't ashamed to admit they were lost now. He had spent the whole time in the Old Forest telling them he knew which way to go even though he didn't but now he couldn't deny that he had no idea how to get out of the valley.

'What are we going to do?' Lucy groaned, 'Where is this place?'

'What is this place?' Pippin wondered. Then his voice turned into one that didn't sound anything like his usual self, a day dreamy voice, 'I've never seen such beauty.'

The group had come to a tree. It was clearly the oldest thing in the area and it had an aerie feel to it. There was something to the tree, Hermione thought, that made you incredibly sleepy. Merry and Pippin began to doze off. Soon Merry, Pippin, Sam and Lucy were all fast asleep under the tree. Hermione could barely keep her eyes open. She looked at Frodo who was in a bit of a daze. He had the ring in his hand and his eyes were rolling. His index finger was close to the ring and-

'Frodo no!' Hermione yelled out. She raced toward him and knocked the ring out of his hand which was clearly not a good thing to do. He looked at her before pushing her to the ground and snatching the ring from the ground. She lost consciousness.

There were many faces. Hermione could see heaps of people crowding around her. She remembered straight away what had happened. Why had Frodo reacted the way he did? Was the ring more then it seemed? Why had she tried to grab it anyway?

'Is she okay?' Asked Pippin.

'She's fine,' Sam said, 'Just been knocked out.'

Hermione sat up and looked at Frodo who was standing at the back of the group. He looked very guilty.

'I'm sorry,' he said, 'I don't know what came over me. I-'

'Don't worry about it,' Hermione interrupted, 'You didn't mean to.' Hermione was sure that he hadn't been in a right state of mind. There was something to this ring that she couldn't place.

'Are you sure you're alright?' Asked Lucy.

'Yeah,' Hermione replied, 'Can you help me up?' Pippin held out his hand, Hermione grabbed it and he lifted her onto her feet. 'Thanks.' Hermione smiled.

The group quickly gathered their things and were about to head out when a short (but not as short as the hobbits) man came up to them. 'Had trouble with old Willow, I see,' the man said and everyone was confused.

'Who are you? And who is Old Willow?' Frodo asked with a slight bit of admiration in his voice.

'I am Tom Bombadill and Old Willow is that tree over there that put you to sleep I see,' the man said, 'Where might you be going?'

'We're headed for Bree,' Frodo said with fear clear in his voice.

'Strange way to get there,' Tom said and Hermione watched him curiously as he laughed.

'Can you tell us the way?' Hermione asked, looking at him with hope.

'Sure,' Tom said, 'Follow me.' And with that he turned and walked off down the valley.

'Do you think we should trust him?' Sam whispered to Hermione who was at the back of the group.

'I don't know,' Hermione said and she bit her lip, 'But I can't see any better option.'

The group followed Tom Bombadill who seemed to be in a bit of a day dream and didn't look round to make sure they were following, not even once. Although Hermione wasn't so sure of the strange man he didn't seem evil, he seemed strange but friendly and nice all the same. Finally the man led them from the valley and into a lush area upon a small hill. On the hill was a little cottage with the most beautiful garden.

At last Hermione felt relaxed, well more relaxed then she had been. At least here there were no moving trees, trees that made you sleep or branches to trip over. Tom Bombadill turned to face the group.

'This is my home,' he announced, 'You will stay here tonight, I will accept no different. Tonight you shall stay in the house of Tom Bombadill. Come laugh and be merry and this is Goldberry, daughter of the River,' he introduced them to a woman with golden locks who had the hobbits looking at her in awe and Hermione muttering 'boys'.

The group spent the night at Tom Bombadill's house where the hobbits drank to their heart's content and Hermione and Lucy laughed and told stories of their home. Hermione wished that her friends were here. That they could be in a different world without having to set out on a crazy, deadly quest to save the world and without having to endure terrible terrain to find her friends. Why couldn't things go back to the simple day to day struggle against Voldemort? Why did there always have to be a crazy plot to destroy the world that she had to stop? Why couldn't somebody else, just for once do the saving? And, she thought as she passed a tankard to Pippin, why did Ron always have to be so bloody stupid?


End file.
